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Almost a decade has passed, let that sink in for a minute, since that fateful day, May 13 the date of the letter, someone in the ivory towers of mother Chrysler decided 789 of us were no longer worthy. Did not matter if your family had put in decades and generations of loyalty. Mr Press and Mr Nardeli had a "once in a lifetime chance" to purge the dealer ranks of the guys that they didn't like. Never mind the years those dealers put up with ****ty paint..****ty transmissions..****ty engines, that didn't matter......we were gone. I won't go into the the details but the dealers that arbitrated and won didn't really win. I know two personally and all they won was a Letter Of Intent, (LOI) For one it was so restrictive that he could not meet the requirements in the time frame necessary, it was impossible! That's why he sued Chrysler AGAIN, and won AGAIN. The check cleared and he moved on. The other could re-open and she did and now is I believe the only stand alone Jeep dealer in the nation! Her success is wonderful to watch and I wish her all the luck in the world.

I could go on and on this morning but I won't. I'm preaching to the choir, you have heard my rants before and as long as X Man continues this Forum you will hear it again. I just wish publications like Auto News would at least acknowledge the event but don't count on it. I sent a letter to Larry V. at Auto News to see if they would at least acknowledge the date. No return e-mail.....surprise surprise.

So tomorrow night at 9 PM central I will raise a glass of Crown in a toast to "The 789" and our GM brothers that took the hit. Please join me with a glass of your favorite beverage. Then this year at 9:02 I will raise a toast to the dealers that are no longer with us. The guys and gals that went to their grave with this on their mind and in their heart. Then at 9:04 I will toast those that have found it in their heart to move on, hopefully to better things, and to those of us that cannot move on for whatever reason we have.

Thanks to all my Forum Friends, as I've said before. You have helped me personally through this more than you know. And thanks to X-Man for giving us a voice....even if the choir may be the only one listening.

Today, I took a look on You-Tube of my Congressional Testimony, and realized none of us ever had a chance. The evidence was presented, Mr. Press outright lied, and nothing made any difference. It's ok now, we move on, but we are not the same.

Today, I took a look on You-Tube of my Congressional Testimony, and realized none of us ever had a chance. The evidence was presented, Mr. Press outright lied, and nothing made any difference. It's ok now, we move on, but we are not the same.

I watched it again last night my friend. You are absolutely correct--you move on, but you're not the same. Nothing now will ever make it right or alter the fact that 789 lives were forever changed. No one can know what the intervening years would have been like or how those lives would have played out had those businesses not been stolen from the owners. You can at least take some satisfaction in knowing that you exposed Jim Press as a bald faced liar in front of everyone at the Senate Hearing that day. There wasn't any doubt in the minds of everyone in that room as to who was telling the truth and who was trying to cover his ass with more lies. Ever get that followup phone call Ol' Jim promised ??

I still think about Medlyn Jeep from Milford NH from time to time. I was at the dealer that was handed his point. That was difficult. I could just hear the pain in his voice when I spoke with him. Very sad.

I will never forget the 789 or my fellow GM dealers that lost their franchises. Very difficult time that changed many lives forever.

Fortunately our dealership won in arbitration and continues to be successful in providing jobs and GM representation in a small rural community. We just completed our 47th year serving the community with 3rd generation in charge of daily operations.

Our future looks bright if GM minds the Wholesale business and lets us take care of the Retail.